September 2018 Newsletter

September 2018 SRI AUROBINDO SOCIETY VOL 32.09 Singapore Permit No. MCI (P) 102/02/2018 NEWSLETTER The Entry into the inner countries In Matter’s body find thy heaven-born soul.Botanical Name: Arctotis VenustaCommon Name: Blue-eyed African DaisySpiritual Significance: Cheerful Endeavour Then Savitri surged out of her body’s wall And stood a little span outside herself And looked into her subtle being’s depths And in its heart as in a lotus-bud Divined her secret and mysterious soul. - Savitri, Sri Aurobindo

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. Guiding Light of the MonthWHY all this noise, all this movement, this vain and futile agitation; why thiswhirlwind carrying men away like a swarm of flies caught in a storm? Howsad is the sight of all that wasted energy, all those useless efforts! When willthey stop dancing like puppets on a string, pulled they know not by whom or what? When will they find time to sit quietly and go within, to recollectthemselves and open that inner door which screens from them Thy priceless treasures, Thy infinite boons? . . . The Mother, ‘Prayers and Meditations’ November 29, 1913 From the Editor’s DeskThis month’s newsletter edition catches a glimpse new world of subtler breath where she watches beings moving, \"strange goddesses with deep-pooledof Book 7, Canto 3 of Savitri, ‘The entry into theInner Countries’. Savitri determined in the magical eyes\" who seemed to hold in them more thanprevious episode to pursue the finding of her Soul. any of the other beings she had met before. She resistsIn this canto, each line reveals something that willaid us, in our journey’s course as we search the the temptation to settle in this space and live with theinner countries for our now, ‘lost’ soul. Savitri’s goddesses. As determined earlier, resolute Savitriinitial entry onto the inner countries facesresistance, but resolute Savitri persists and pushes moves on the less trodden path pointed out by theseher entry inside and moves on discovering or goddesses, seeking for her Soul. On this path Savitri meets \"a few bright forms\" who look at her \"with calm immortal eyes”. In this realm,encountering various parts and planes of her “There was no sound to break the brooding hush;being. One felt the silent nearness of the soul.”Before proceeding on, it is useful to reckon why What is the inherent message in this for us, sinceSavitri had decided to enter into her inner Savitri is but a guide on our Spiritual journey? Thecountries. It is to discover her soul as commanded answer to this question needs to be worked out byby her inner voice in her moment of despair, in the each one of us. No one journey will be exactly thedense and dark night, as she was sitting beside same, one can presume, since each nature, althoughsleeping Satyavan. She first enters the world of generically similar, comes with its specialsubtle matter and then into the sense-driven life (or combination of hues, habits, tendencies to be lookedthe Kingdom of Little Life). Then she ventures into and worked out. This inward journey, we haveinto the Kingdom of greater life. In all of these, been promised, if it brings us to the central truth ofthere is no sign of the soul-presence and entities our being, would then launch us into another realm oftherein move on mechanically or chaotically in all existence, that exists only to express that truth of ourrandomness, amounting to wasteful energy with being re-discovered. Between that and our currentno fruitful culmination. Savitri then enters a state of being appear an endless single path, windingbrilliant and ordered space with a distinct touch of most of the time, lost to the horizons far, far away.the organizing mind with its monarch at the helm, But a first step is needed and usually it will be aReason. In this tight ordered space, there is no testing first step, which all the forces of the netherroom for imagination to take flight into viewless world would seek to hamper and hinder. It is a highervistas nor is there scope for the high leaps of quality in us that would be eventually the savingthoughts that fashion new, unknown worlds. The grace, with blind faith, perhaps, that would enablepresence of the soul is still lacking and Savitri that first move to be attempted, and later on, to staymoves on, politely declining that space, for she on course. Let us allow the prayer above to urge us onwas seeking her Soul. At last she breaks into a to surge forward.www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 2

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. Savitri, a journey of Love and Light Then smiled again a large and tranquil air: Blue heaven, green earth, partners of Beauty’s reign, Lived as of old, companions in happiness; And in the world’s heart laughed the joy of life. All now was still, the soil shone dry and pure.Through it all she moved not, plunged not in the vain waves. Out of the vastness of the silent self Life’s clamour fled; her spirit was mute and free. (Savitri)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 3

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. Flowers Speak… Faith Happy are men anchored on fixed belief In this uncertain and ambiguous world, Or who have planted in the heart’s rich soil One small grain of spiritual certitude. Happiest who stand on faith as on a rock. Silence A few bright forms emerged from unknown depths And looked at her with calm immortal eyes. There was no sound to break the brooding hush; One felt the silent nearness of the soul. Savitri Order Then journeying forward through the self’s wide hush She came into a brilliant ordered Space. There Life dwelt parked in an armed tranquillity; A chain was on her strong insurgent heart.(Flowers and Messages, Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 4

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. One felt the silent nearness of the soul.Savitri's problem is to penetrate appearance and reach the reality about herself. This is a spiritual questleading to a spiritual end. The nature of the quest, the stages in the progress, and the configuration ofthe goal, all must defy description in everyday language, which is no more than one of the functions ormanifestations of the appearance.Hence the poet is obliged to resort to a parable and to the language of symbols. The 'parable' of Savitri'ssearch for her soul spans across several cantos, and symbol regions with their contours, laws andinhabitants are passed in review, and Savitri is shown as making her progress through the 'innercountries', even as, in Book II, Aswapati is shown as careering through the occult worlds in the cosmos. Right at the commencement of her quest, a voice tells Savitri that her aim should be to \"help man togrow into the God\", not to achieve her own salvation alone; in other words, the sorrow and darknessthreatening her life with Satyavan, being symptomatic of the present human destiny, should be trackedto their source, struggled with and mastered finally. As Savitri approaches the 'inner countries', she is confronted by an ebony gate barring her passage.From within comes the porter's \"formidable voice\" of forthright warning to Savitri. Although thisserpent-guardian and its attendant hounds, trolls, gnomes and goblins raise hideous rout, Savitri forcesthe gate open and enters, unconcerned and unaffected, the inner worlds. Who is this forbidding portress?Who are her attendants? Always, when one starts on a new adventure, a nameless fear and its progenyof hesitations and vague premonitions seem to bar the way.One needs courage and resolution to withstand these sullen initial impediments that try to prevent thefirst step being taken. However, they have no effective power to throw back; they can frighten, and iftheir bluff is called, they are really powerless. The occult inner continents follow one after another; these are the new fields of Savitri's cognitiveexperience. There is, first, the world of 'subtle matter', analogous to the world Aswapati (as describedin Book II, canto 2) passes through—analogous but not identical, for no two spiritual quests are exactlythe same. This dense region \"of subtle Matter packed\"—a sort of no-man's land between the dusk ofsubconscience and the first streaks of life—leads presently to, ...a form of things, A start of finiteness, a world of sense:This sense-driven life is without order, without direction, without meaning; as with ignorant massesclashing in the dark, there is motion without aim, or striving without positive result. Such must be thefate of all endeavours when \"the sense's instinct (is) void of soul/Or when the soul sleeps hidden voidof power\". Savitri, guided by \"the saviour Name\", edges round this chaotic world of \"disordered impulses\", thekingdom of little life, and enters the kingdom of greater life, \"a giant head of Life ungoverned by mindor soul\". The Life-Force itself rages here in its elemental vastness; it is no tenuous trickle, but verily \"aspate, a torrent of the speed of Life\" breaking \"like a wind-lashed driven mob of waves/Racing on a palefloor of summer sand\". Blind but fierce, aimless but irresistible, the heady current of this unleashedforce achieves marvellous results through inadvertence:Out of the nether unseen deeps it toreIts lure and magic of disordered bliss,Into earth-light poured its maze of tangled charmAnd heady draught of Nature's primitive joywww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 5

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018.And the fire and mystery of forbidden delightDrunk from the world-libido's bottomless well,And the honey-sweet poison-wine of lust and death,But dreamed a vintage of glory of life's gods,And felt as celestial rapture's golden sting.This is the world of primitive heroism, compact of great striving and impressive results; fighters, daringexplorers, uncalculating hedonists, restless dreamers, magicians, lovers, haters, fill this world. There isthe clash of violent opposing furies, there are alternations between fear and joy, ecstasy and despair.But, whatever its particular tinge, life in this region is everywhere intense; and speech has adownrightness, and song \"its ictus of infallibility\". Yet all this marvel and splendour has no sure baseon Truth, but are reared on shifting sands compounded of half-truths and gross-errors. Total perversionis possible and sometimes reigns unabashed:Here in Life's nether realms all contraries meet;Truth stares and does her works with bandaged eyesAnd Ignorance is Wisdom's patron here:Those galloping hooves in their enthusiast speedCould bear to a dangerous intermediate zoneWhere Death walks wearing a robe of deathless Life.Here too lies \"the valley of the wandering Gleam\", a self-created self-perpetuating nightmare death-in-life. Savitri withstands the terror and the lure, the passion and the pain, and steadily journeys forward to'fresh woods and pastures new'. The next region is \"a brilliant ordered Space\", fed and fostered by reason. The impetuous Life-Forceis held in leash by reason. The passage has thus been from a Dionysian to an Apollonian world. Yetcontrol too can be carried too far. Fleeing from the riot of exuberance, one can canter into the utterformality of death:The ages' wisdom, shrivelled to scholiast lines,Shrank patterned into a copy-book device.It is, no doubt, a balanced reign, but also a cabinned reign; there is no room or scope for the play ofimagination, for daring leaps of thought, for the unrestrained climb of the spirit. It is like the cloisteredvirtue of \"a highbred maiden with chaste eyes/Forbidden to walk unveiled the public ways\". There is amean self-sufficiency, a petty perfection here that effectively rules out \"rhythms too high or vast\", theplay of high ideas, and the sovereign richness and variety of life in the Spirit. In this \"quiet country offixed mind\", an authoritative spokesman accosts Savitri and assures her that this is truly \"the home ofcosmic certainty\" where all is \"docketed and tied\"; thoughts apotheosis has fashioned this realm; herereign order and safety, clarity and peace. But Savitri is ill at ease in this cold small world, \"this orderedknowledge of apparent things\"; she cannot abide here, she must seek her soul elsewhere. Her decisionsurprises, and even offends, some of the self satisfied inhabitants of this place, while one, wiser andsadder than the rest, murmurs:Is there one left who seeks for a Beyond?Can still the path be found, opened the gate?Undaunted, unwearied, Savitri passes on till she arrives at a place thronged by a crowd of, \"brilliant,fire-footed, sunlight-eyed... messengers from our subliminal greatnesses/Guests from the cavern of thesecret soul\".www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 6

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018.Savitri is attracted by these \"strange goddesses with deep-pooled magical eyes\", and she would like tolive with them and share the light of their life, but first she will pursue her quest for the discovery of hersecret innermost soul. Surely, these bright creatures will help her in her quest. How may I, she asks, .. .find the birthplace of the occult Fire And the deep mansion of my secret soul...The amazing answer comes: O Savitri, from thy hidden soul we come... O human copy and disguise of God Who seekst the deity thou keepest hid And livest by the Truth thou hast not known, Follow the world's winding highway to its source. There in the silence few have ever reached, Thou shalt see the Fire burning on the bare stone And the deep cavern of thy secret soul.Inaccessible to—not negotiable by—any but \"rare wounded pilgrim-feet\", the great winding road nowbears the tread of Savitri's feet, and \"a few bright forms\" emerge from unknown depths and look at her\"with calm immortal eyes\": There was no sound to break the brooding hush; One felt the silent nearness of the soul.(An excerpt from “Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri – A study of the cosmic epic”, Dr. Premanandakumar, SriAurobindo Ashram Trust, Puducherry)July-August Sunday Activities at the Centre - A glimpseJuly 29th – Talk by Prof Vladimir YatsenkoThe Cause of Creation. THE BEGINNING:Taking a brief look into Vedic Cosmogony. Shatapatha Brahmana depicts the Myth of Creation in thisway. “At the beginning was the Self (Atman). He was Alone. He looked around and found nobody elseexcept himself. He said: “I Am…” But there was no other name to say, for he was alone. … He was nothappy. He wanted Another. it can be only for one reason, for delight.”THE FIRST CREATION: The Eternal Night“Out of Himself He cast “a luminous shadow”: - gradually denying himself, withdrawing his SupremeKnowledge from His Supreme Power, becoming unaware of these worlds as Himself.THE SECOND CREATION:When the first Involution took place and the Light was turned into the Darkness, “the Creation becameas if unsteady. It could not sustain itself, so the Supreme Self had to enter it. And when He has entered,as the text says: “Himself by Himself”, the Creation became steady.”From this point onward the Evolution starts to takes place:www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 7

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018.“A soul of the Divine is here slowly awaking out of its involution and concealment in the materialInconscience.” - says Sri Aurobindo in The Synthesis of Yoga. So, actually there were two Creations(Involutions) before the Evolution could take place: first, out of Himself he created the worlds, and thenhe entered them, plunging into the darkness and lying down at the bottom of the Inconscient.August 4th - Talk by Prof Vladimir YatsenkoAbove are four operative functions of the consciousness in the Vedantic tradition: which are definingconsciousness as an interaction of Knowledge and Power, Name and Form.Samjnana is the contact of consciousness with an image of things by which there is a sensiblepossession of it in its substance; if Prajnana can be described as the outgoing of apprehensiveconsciousness to possess its object in conscious energy, to know it, Samjnana can be described as theinbringing movement of apprehensive consciousness which draws the object placed before it back toitself so as to possess it in conscious substance, to feel it.Ajnana is the operation by which consciousness dwells on an image of things so as to govern andpossess it in power.Vijnana is the original comprehensive consciousness which holds an image of things in its essence,totality and parts and properties; it is the original, spontaneous, true and complete view of it whichbelongs properly to the supermind and of which mind has only a shadow in the highest operations ofthe comprehensive intellect.Prajnana is the consciousness which holds as image of things before it as an object with which it hasto enter into relations and possess by apprehension and analytic and synthetic cognition.These four, therefore, are the basis of all conscious action....There are secret operations in us, in oursubconscient and superconscient selves, which precede this action, but of these we are not aware in oursurface being and therefore for us they do not exist. If we knew of them, our whole conscious functioningwould be changed. - Sri AurobindoAugust 5th – Reading from AIM magazine – July 20181. Renunciation and enjoymentIt talks about how human mind is currently attached to sensuous satisfactions. To overcome that self-denial or external renunciation is necessary for the soul to break out of the clogged sensory pleasures.That does not mean self-torturing which is an offence to the Divine seated within us. The enjoymentshould be to see and feel the divine expressing itself in everything within us and without us.2. DetachmentOur mind has the power of detachment and it can be strengthened by a certain attitude of indifferenceto the things of the body. While keeping the body in order, we should not be too much worried aboutwhat best to eat and how much sleep etc....More than the aid of physical ailments the mind should betrained to a greater potentiality of vigour from the mental and vital energy.3. Knowing and Seeing God in the worldwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 8

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018.When one becomes a Yogin raising his step from lower knowledge and gets higher illumination, he canillumine the lower and make it a part of higher knowledge. He becomes a channel of God consciousnessand God action in the world. He sees nothing but God in every form and action whether be data ofscience, philosophy, all activities of past, present and future. In everything he can bring the illuminedvision and his liberated power of the spirit.4. The Yoga of Divine LoveThe Supreme BeingSupreme Being is also the Universal Being. To enter into more intimate relation with him we shouldapproach in the growing knowledge, not in ignorance. This supreme Being guides us in whatever waywe approach correcting our distorted ways which is the beginning and finally with developingconsciousness complete Divinity is realised.August 12th – Reading of passages from Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War andSelf-DeterminationThe Spiritual Aim and LifeJared guided us in the process of understanding the passages read.Right now our society is founded upon the contracts and associations to bring harmony, otherwise therewill be never ending conflicts, clashes of egos. Sri Aurobindo says still it is far from a society foundedupon spirituality. Our civilised mentality has only created excessive needs and desires with sciencedeveloping more mechanical devices and Nature not allowed to bring about the spiritual heart in man.August 19th – Reading of passages from Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War andSelf-DeterminationContinuation of The Spiritual Aim and LifeWhen the more advanced minds begin to declare civilisation at the peak brings only more confusion,stagnation and decay, to remedy this human mind goes back to think of more science and moremechanical devices. This means to carry a disease to its height is the best way to cure.This will pushback the spiritual element in man far back.The socio-religious machinery in the name of giving spiritual freedom only binds man in imperiousyoke and an iron prison. So salvation of true nature of the soul is lost!Looking forward to Sri Aurobindo’s remedy for all these traumas in the later passages when read.August 15th – Darshan Day, Sri Aurobindo’s 146th Birth AnniversaryIt was indeed a great blessing for all the members to get immersed in Sri Aurobindo’s consciousnesswhen our youth and children through their prayer reading and the enacting of Sri Aurobindo’s andMother’s life made it immensly soulful! Sri Ramanathan gave us the joy of hearing to the Spiritualjourney of Sri Aurobindo in a very clarified way.As always Popat Bhai arranged for a delicious dinner after the programme.Thanks to Sanjay and Shailaja for a beautiful introduction and vote of thanks. - Jayalakshmiwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 9

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. PROGRAMME FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2018 DATE TIME DETAILS 8 AM Monthly Morning Walk*2 Sep 2018 Sunday 6 PM AIM Magazine Reading and Discussion9 Sep 2018 5 PM Yoga and Pranayama Sunday 6 PM Thematic Study Circle Part I: The Human Cycle16 Sep 2018 6 PM Thematic Study Circle Part II Sunday 4 PM The Human Cycle Youth Programme : Savitri LEGO movie23 Sep 2018 5 PM Yoga and Pranayama Sunday 6 PM Savitri Circle30 Sep 2018 6 PM Prof. Yatsenko’s movies (TBC) Sunday* Please see below for details.Date: SEPTEMBER 2018 MORNING WALK – NO. 397Time:Walk Venue: Sunday, 2nd September 2018 8:00 A.M. sharp for warm up exercise. MacRitchie ReservoirMeeting Point: MacRitchie Reservoir Car Park (Off Lornie Road)Public transport Nearest MRT: Caldecott MRT (CC17). Nearest Bus Stop 51071 (Bus 52, 74, 93, 157,130, 132, 156, 157, 162, 162M, 165, 166, 167, 852 and 855, 980)Contact No: Mr. S.Ramanathan (HP: 91385130)www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 10

Hosts: Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018. Mr K.V.Rao & Mrs Shailaja, 45, Mandalay Road, # 17-01, Mandalay Heights, Singapore 3082245 Directions to Host’ Residence: Driving: If coming via Balestier Road (from Moulmein Road End) left turn opposite to Shaw Plaza into Mandalay Road. Bus: 21,130,131,145,186 Alight near HMI Balestier Hospital on Balestier Road. Telephone: Mobile: 96815466 (Shailaja), 97846435 (K V Rao) 62434563 (Home) (RSVP Email ID: [email protected]; [email protected])Note: All are encouraged to attend the Walk. Those, however, who are not able to join the Walk, thehosts would be very happy that they directly come and join in the brunch by 10:15 AM. Prayers andmeditation will commence sharp at 10.30 A.M. All are requested to be punctual. PREVIEW OF FORTHCOMING SUNDAY MORNING WALKSWALK NO DATE PLACE HOST 398 07/10/18 Gardens by the Bay TBC 399 04/11/18 Chestnut Nature Park Mr. Kiran Sule & Family 400 2/12/18 Coney Island Mr Ritesh Thakkar and Family Along the Way… August Walk Review (walk no 396)There is an old Hindi saying, “if you want to find a person who has not taken bath in the Holy Ganges,you do not have to go far, they will be among the residents of Varanasi (Benares)”. So who does notknow the significance of Fort Canning Hill in Singapore’s history? Well, many residents of Singapore,that’s who. Many of us often work near the hill (yours truly included), some go for walks on itsmanicured lawns with their partners, while some often shop near the place, some others even stay in itsvicinity. The hill in the heart of the city looks over us like a guardian angel, like it has always done forhundreds of years, while we simply ignore it and rush to earn a living, marry someone dear, or offer aprayer at a church, mosque or temple at its foothills.It probably also gave refuge to a fleeing Srivijayan prince, Parameswara who arrived in Singapura,hundreds of years ago, probably one of his descendants, Sultan Iskandar Shah, the fifth and last ruler ofpre-colonial Singapore, even lays buried there. But what we learnt for sure was it was the last hidingspot for Lieutenant-General Percival and his core team of commanders. Lt-General Percival was GeneralOfficer Commanding Malaya in World War Two when the Japanese invaded Malaya. While he isremembered often as the man who surrendered the island and over 130,000 men when Singaporesurrendered to the Japanese, we learnt that he did not have the resources to defend Singapore. WithHMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse destroyed 3 days after the attack on Pearl Harbour, with notenough tanks, nor enough planes to defend the island, and finally blindsided by an attack on the westernfront, there was not much his British army could do.Thanks to Jeya Ayadurai, Savita Kashyap, and their colleague Joanne, we had a refreshing multimediahistory lesson at The Battlebox on Fort Canning, just four days before Singapore’s national day whichfalls on 9th August. The ‘walk’ itself was much shorter than usual as we only had a short walk from thewww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 11

Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. September 2018.meeting point to The Battlebox via the Spice Garden and passing by the tomb of Sultan Iskandar Shah.Certainly Fort Canning is worth a visit again for one and all, both for its greenery as well as its historicalsignificance.The uniqueness of this walk did not end there, it was one of the rare walks where the brunch was heldat the Sri Aurobindo Society’s (SAS) room inside SIFAS. While the walk started with a small group inthe morning, by the time we were at The Battlebox, the group had become larger and it included Mr andMrs Yash Mehta who both grew up in Pondicherry Ashram and their daughter Mili. When we reachedthe SAS room, a larger group of devotees were waiting, including Prof Vladimir Yatsenko and the hostArjun Madan. The sublimity of the meditation at the centre had its own uniqueness and that spread tothe prayers that followed. While most of us left after partaking the brunch, a dedicated group ofyoungsters went back to rehearse for the programme on 15th August. - S N Venkat Printed and Published by The Sri Aurobindo Society of Singapore 2A Starlight Road 01-07, Singapore 217755.Saurab: 86559940 or [email protected]; Sanjay: 98750767 or [email protected]; Email: [email protected] Visit our website at: www.sriaurobindosociety.org.sgwww.sriaurobindosociety.org.sg 12